150 Italian Restaurants You Need to Visit Before You Die is the latest addition to the popular 150 series and a must-have for anyone who lights up at the thought of bruschetta, orecchiette, risotto, parmigiana, tiramisu, and other Italian culinary delights. From cozy old-school bistros with checkered place mats to contemporary Italian haute cuisine restaurants, this guide is all about one thing: a passion for Italian food. That passion comes through in inspiring stories and evocative photography.
150 Italian Restaurants is the perfect companion for your next city trip, but it’s also simply the ideal book to browse through in search of comforting inspiration. Hungry yet?
They Must Fall: Muhammad Ali and the Men He Fought features powerful and often moving images and stories of Muhammad Ali and the men he fought in the ring, by award-winning photographer Michael Brennan.
“Around 1978, I had been in Houston, Texas photographing former Ali opponent George Foreman who had then reinvented himself as a roadside preacher. On the plane back to NYC, I thought, ‘If that’s what George is doing, I wonder what the rest of his opponents are up to?’ I set out to track down as many of the old guys as I could find.”
Brennan spent decades locating Ali’s former opponents to discover what had become of them. This unique book is a look through Brennan’s remarkable archive, containing numerous never-before- seen photos plus poignant stories illuminating the images and contextualizing Ali’s powerful role in the world of sport. Includes a special introductory essay by the late, great Jimmy Breslin.
“Michael Brennan’s iconic 1977 portrait photograph of Muhammad Ali captures something far bigger and deeper than just the beautiful face of a beautiful man. It is a detailed map of the personal journey of one whose incomparable talents and audacity caused literati to swoon, taught a generation to question authority, and ultimately altered the path of a society which had never before seen a man exactly like him. To look at him the way he was then is to remember, with joy and sorrow, who we all once were.” – Jim Lampley, discussing the cover image (Boxing commentator, HBO Sports)
Helena Calmfors is a New York-based artist and performer whose work is inspired by the archetype of the dominant woman. It is a role with which she identifies and yet gently subverts by introducing ‘soft’ elements such as flowers into the typically ‘hard’ aesthetic vocabulary of domination. Central to her work is the feminist belief in the right to own one’s body; she also explores the theme of reclaiming identity through hierarchical power play. The act of creating intimate scenes and experiences is present in all aspects of her art, ranging from performance to watercolor paintings, and digital and Polaroid photography. She uses instant photography as a way of representing the ephemerality of performance and the fleeting intimacy of the dominant/submissive relationship. With an introduction by the Indian-American artist, Ankita Mishra, Forget Me Not is Calmfors’ debut monograph.
Not For A Want Of Trying is an extensive retrospective of the 35-year career of Belgian designer and creative maker Bart Luijten. This comprehensive publication serves as a chronological “picture book” and historical document, tracing Luijten’s profound influence on the Belgian cultural landscape. Spanning 384 pages, the book presents a vibrant explosion of visual material, from iconic music posters for venues like Ancienne Belgique (Brussels, Belgium) and Arenberg & OLT (Antwerp, Belgium) to the avant-garde layout of cult magazines such as Pulp, Plastiks, and Gonzo Circus.
The collection expertly balances Luijten’s high-profile commercial work for clients like Virgin Records, Lannoo Publishers, and M HKA with his deeply personal independent practice, including intricate collages and illustrations. By showcasing design work that bridges the post-punk and pre-internet eras, the book captures a unique evolution in visual communication. While Luijten’s most significant cultural campaigns are front and center, the selection remains idiosyncratic, offering a rare glimpse into the archives and creative mind of a designer who helped shape the aesthetic identity of a generation.
In a series of color-saturated, dream-like, hallucinatory images taken at night, this second book in a trilogy by Kolkata-based photographer Arko Datto explores the shifting world of nature, society, and politics in Malaysia and Indonesia. Over the course of 4 years, he has captured both people and animals in confrontation with the changing urban environments they live in, with the subtext of the politics that made this change possible. In a place that used to be considered a tropical paradise, over- development and property speculation have forced residents out and have created deserts of empty real estate where neither locals nor animal life can thrive. SNAKEFIRE is dedicated to this paradise that has been lost to unmediated human greed and ponders the costs of untrammeled consumption.
Luis Bustamante has a refined and very sophisticated style, and has been working for over thirty years. This book shows his latest projects from the last five years, in places such as London, Miami, Madrid, Aspen, Cantabria, Marbella, Mexico City, Barcelona, The Hamptons and St Moritz, among others. His passion for art has developed a style that fits perfectly with art collectors around the world.
Luis Bustamante’s fundamental concern has always been to generate relationships. Not only are the spaces he designs intended to achieve this but he himself aspires to it with his clients. Bustamante understands design in the best posible way: as an extraordinary living art.
More than other painters, the Impressionists wanted to shake off the dust of the studio, and swarmed the noisy streets of Paris, filling the cafés and living in garrets and humble little dwellings on the hill of Montmartre, which still seemed like the countryside at the time, its slopes covered with vineyards and vegetable gardens. Nor did they limit themselves to the city, planting their easels in the clearings of the forest of Fontainebleau, on the coast of Normandy, in the rustic villages in the Oise Valley and in Bougival and Argenteuil on the banks of the Seine. Like their Naturalist friends Zola and Maupassant, they liked to mix with the locals so they could experience the places directly, painting everywhere, even on a boat, like the one where Monet had his floating studio.
Curtain Up!: Thirty Years of Spectacular Showhouse Rooms is a glossy compendium of interior designer Barbara Ostrom’s extraordinary rooms that she has created in the last 30 years for the most prestigious showhouses in New York City, New Jersey, and the Hamptons. With a preface by Mario Buatta, the book highlights some of Barbara’s most wildly imaginative and over-the-top rooms. It also displays her process from start to finish where she often has to begin with a gutted, crumbling room. The results are whimsical and colorful, with details ranging from a crystal chandelier adorned with an umbrella, ten foot high canopy beds, antique birdcages, Fu dogs, a 15th century knight in armor, Grecian gas lights, a hand-woven hammock from Jamaica, to ceilings painted with monkeys, parrots, squirrels, and butterflies. Barbara Ostrom’s rooms are exuberant and uplifting – no wonder she’s been dubbed ‘Queen of the Showhouse.’
From cars made of carrot to tea-smuggling spies; Popeye’s spinach to the hallucinogenic effects of lettuce, renowned garden expert Chris Beardshaw takes us on a journey though history’s most fascinating plants, flowers, vegetables and herbs: the ones that changed the world, the ones that almost did, and the ones that certainly didn’t! Ranging from Roman times to present day and even covering future plant-inventions, 100 Plants that (almost) changed the World is a fascinating compendium of stories about the plants and vegetables we see, nurture and consume every day. If you have ever wondered why carrots are supposed to help you see in the dark or why we hang fairy lights and decorations on our Christmas trees then this is the book for you a fun and quirky new volume that offers unique exploration of our planets most fascinating plants.
India, Jewels that Enchanted the World presents for the first time the remarkable history and unique legacy of 500 years of Indian jewelry, from the 17th century to the present. The essays, all written by leading international scholars, explore the rich, distinctive, and unique heritage of Indian jewelry; the striking boldness of South Indian ornaments; the delicate refinement of the Mughal period; the dazzling jewels of the post-Mughal maharajas; the cross-cultural influences between Europe and India in the 19th and early 20th centuries; and the creations of leading contemporary designers whose jewels display the enduring beauty of Indian design and craftsmanship.
Published to accompany a major exhibition at the State Museums of the Moscow Kremlin organized jointly with the Indo-Russian Jewellery Foundation, this lavishly illustrated catalog brings together royal, ceremonial, and personal Indian jewels to showcase the entire range and variety of the jeweler’s art in India.
Maps that Made History is like a 1000-year-long journey around the world; every one of the carefully selected maps featured here has influenced the course of history in some way. This beautifully illustrated book gathers 100 marvelous old maps, each with a fascinating story to tell, from a 12th century Persian world atlas to a Soviet spy map. These maps were used to resolve conflicts, situate battles, construct a road or a canal, establish important shipping routes, even as propaganda tools. All the maps are reproduced in an oversized format, while accompanying text from an experienced team of historians explains the importance of each one.
In times of global crises, architecture must also seek new sustainable approaches to climatic and social challenges. Designed by Kashef Chowdhury / Urbana, the Friendship Hospital in southern Bangladesh can be regarded as pioneering in this respect. The hospital, which was awarded the 2022 RIBA International Prize, provides life-saving healthcare, as well as enhancing the identity of a coastal region that has been devastated by cyclones and soil salinisation as a result of rising sea levels.
Constructed in local brickwork, the architecture collects the valuable rainwater and uses the wind for natural cooling, while subtly interacting with specific characteristics of the world’s largest river delta. It also applies universal architectural means such as space, light and proportions to ensure the well-being of patients and the people close to them.
A profound architectural stance developed out of the geography and history of the local context makes this work globally relevant. This book, which includes a photo essay by Hélène Binet, presents plans, diagrams and model photos that offer insight into the design and construction process in one of the world’s most climate-affected regions.
Things That Cannot Be Put Into Words is an artist’s book written by Marie-Sophie Beinke and published by M-S B Verlag and HOPPER&FUCHS (originally published in German in 2021 by M-S B Verlag) and five translations of the same book as paperback editions. This publishing project consists of a mainly blank book, open to every possible idea and image. Things, that cannot be put into words: What has disappeared, the snatched away, the absent, the nothingness, the void are made present. Space for the thinkable, where words fail. An artist’s book that openly invites readers to critical thinking, dialogue and debate.
Working from his Urbana practice in Bangladesh, Kashef Chowdhury designs architecture that is rooted in the history and nature of its location – whereby the latter also relates to a spiritual and cultural level. This explains his fascination for Kahn’s parliamentary building in Dhaka, which inspired this volume of photo essays.
Kahn’s design is characterized by an innovative architectural language that combines western and eastern traditions, forms and materials. For instance, in view of the great importance of water in Bengali tradition, he placed the building complex by an artificial lake. Furthermore, although it is defined by strict geometrical forms, the parliamentary building reflects the transcendental nature of the National Assembly, defining the hopeful founding years of the independent state of Bangladesh.
The Homes that Shaped Us is the first monograph on the work by Park + Associates, showcasing a selection of the renowned Singaporean firm’s award-winning houses. Singapore’s residential architectural scene is notable for blending futuristic design with sustainable practices and cultural influences. For over 25 years, Park + Associates has been quietly earning praise and plaudits for designing houses that stand out for their architectural innovation, yet which are very much designed as family homes. The studio’s bespoke designs respond to context, lifestyle, and the client’s own ideas. The firm is noted for designing for the tropical climate of Singapore, with emphasis on natural light, cooling effects of water and including beautiful green spaces. The houses showcased in this stunning monograph document the evolution of the firm since its inception in 1999, provide valuable insight into its work, and reflect the joy the Park + Associates team finds in designing homes. Each project is illustrated with beautiful photography and detailed floor plans and elevations. This book is a valuable and inspirational resource for anyone interested in architecture and design, with particular reference to tropical climates and modern contemporary comfort.
What if colours could sing? What if you could not only see them, but hear them too?
A Red that Sings transports the reader to the epicentre of Belgian modernism, where colour is more than just colour: it brings spectacle, vibrates and resonates. In the paintings of James Ensor, Rik Wouters and Jules Schmalzigaug, pigments are not silent elements but musical forces: vermilion cries out, blue clatters, yellow jangles and green blares.
This book offers a compelling cultural history of colour as sound. Drawing on artists’ letters as well as art criticism, poetry, music and philosophy, it illustrates how modern artists and thinkers from Charles Baudelaire and Vincent van Gogh to Wassily Kandinsky, Alexander Scriabin and the Futurists sought synaesthetic connections between seeing and hearing. The ‘red that sings’ – a metaphor coined by Schmalzigaug – runs like a thread through a broader reflection on expression, emotion and modernity that takes in old acquaintances and modern masters, including Peter Paul Rubens and Henri De Braekeleer, as well as Adolphe Monticelli, Willem Paerels and Jean Brusselmans.
How can you stay relevant for your customers? The answer is a combination of the following three factors: technology, personal involvement and social commitment. The past ten years have been marked by the arrival of 4G, mobile services, and robotics. These technologies have brought about a revolution in the field of customer experience and in the future, this will evolve even further. As a company, you will have to take a more active part in the personal life journey of your customers. This opens up the opportunity to tackle, together with your customer, concrete social world problems, including climate change, mobility, and health care. Customers increasingly seek out companies that do good for both themselves, and the world.
This star I give to you is the first publication on the work of London-based artist Freya Douglas-Morris, presenting a body of paintings exploring the poetry, beauty and magic of landscapes and the natural world.
The book documents the artist’s first solo exhibition of the same name at Alexander Berggruen, New York, in 2023, and showcases the eight large oil paintings on canvas and five oil paintings on copper that were on display. This star I give to you includes a conversation between the artist and British publisher Matt Price, a foreword by New York-based writer and Associate Director at Alexander Berggruen, Kirsten Cave, along with studio notes by the artist on each of the reproduced works.
A graduate of the University of Brighton and the Royal College of Art, London, Douglas-Morris has exhibited internationally in China, Taiwan, The Bahamas, Austria, Italy, France and America.
A gem of a book that stays with you long after you have finished it. Edvard Munch wrote continuously; letters, diaries, literary texts and other notes. In Like a Ghost I Leave You you will find striking statements about art versus nature, enemies, money, death and much more. – “Had I been in Possession of the as yet undiscovered little Remote telephone which one carries around in one’s Pocket You would have long ago received Communications from me”- Undated draft of a letter to Jens Willumsen.
Through a selection of Edvard Munch works the Norwegian award-winning author Lene Ask invites children of all ages to draw and be creative together with Munch. The book has texts by Ask accompanied by exercises that are related to Munch’s way of experimenting and encourage children to participate in the wonderful world of Munch’s art. Design by Aslak Gurholt, one of Norway’s most renowned and award-winning book designers.
Ages 8+
Shot over three years from 2019 to 2022, Thank You For Playing With Me by Yolanda Y. Liou is an intimate look at two plus-size models, Enam Ewura Adjoa Asiama and Vanessa Russell. Liou first came across Asiama’s Instagram in 2019 and was blown away by her confidence and charisma. It was the type of confidence that Liou struggled to have about her own body due to her upbringing in Taiwan. “Growing up in Taiwan, I was consistently exposed to the relentless beauty standards that prioritised being skinny… This obsession led me to believe that I was never beautiful enough, and consequently, I felt unworthy of love. I constantly sought ways to conform, believing that only then would I be accepted and appreciated.” Liou’s main aim with this photo book is to help people embrace their individuality.
“THANK YOU BYE was born out of a need to put down somewhere what I have experienced over the last five years. Although it gives the impression of a veil being lifted, it is simply a record of my personal experience. The intention, through these hundreds of photos, is to transcribe the absurd, crazy and little-known world of modelling, by means of an unpublished souvenir album of my time spent in fashion. The result is THANK YOU BYE, which owes its name to the phrase uttered by casting directors every time you walk in front of them. It recounts my moments of sadness, my anxieties, my unease, my questions, but also our laughter, our travels, our togetherness, our mutual support. Five years during which I fought not to lose myself. Thrown at the age of 18 at a speed I found hard to manage into a dimension that was not my own, I embrace all the models who ‘pose’ in this book and who, without realising it, helped me to escape. What you hold in your hands is none other than the last chance to prove that I was still worth something. When you turn the last page, you’ll know that I’ve resigned and can finally say that I’m happy.” – Clémentine Balcaen
I’m Showing How Big the Sky Is is Martina Bacigalupo’s tribute to her former nanny, Chiou Taur Wu, a Taiwanese woman who lived over three decades in Italy. Despite a harsh life—from working in fields and factories to managing her husband’s gambling debts — Chiou remained resilient. At almost 70, she returned to Taiwan, resumed her studies, took dance classes, and began traveling.
Through hundreds of photos from Chiou during ten years of correspondence, Bacigalupo presents a story of extraordinary resilience. Told in the first person, with Chiou’s images and words, the book is a celebration of freedom, humor, and poetry.